Syphilis in pregnant women in Zambia.

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Abstract
Because of the high incidence of congenital syphilis [in patients] at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia, the potential risks of congenital infection and fetal loss due to syphilis were assessed by screening 202 antenatal patients, 340 pregnant women admitted to the hospital whose pregnancies ended in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth and 469 consecutive babies delivered at the hospital. Primary serological screening was performed with the rapid plasma reagin test; reactive sera were confirmed by the Treponema pallidum hemagglutination [TPHA] test. In all cases, detailed histories were obtained and patients were examined for clinical signs of symphilis. The TPHA test result was reactive in 12.5% of antenatal patients and in 42% of women who aborted in the latter half of pregnancy. Among 469 consecutive babies delivered at the hospital, 30 had reactive results to the TPHA test; of these, 2 were stillborn and 4 had signs of congenital syphilis at birth. Thus, because syphilis affects an appreciably high number of pregnant women in Zambia, a special campaign to adequately screen and treat pregnant women and neonates is needed.

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